Turkey seeks three-year jail terms for journalists covering Imamoglu protests
A Turkish public prosecutor is seeking three-year jail terms for seven journalists arrested while covering protests against the jailing of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office filed an indictment against Bulent Kilic, Kurtulus Ari, Yasin Akgul, Zeynep Kuray, Gokhan Kam, Ali Onur Tosun and Hayri Tunc for violating a law prohibiting participation in unsanctioned protests.
The journalists were arrested on 24 March for covering a protest outside City Hall in the Istanbul area of Sarachane against Imamoglu's arrest. They were released days later under judicial supervision.
The indictment stated that the journalists had declared that their presence at the protest was within the scope of journalism and photojournalism activities, but that no evidence could be obtained during the file review to verify their statements to that fact.
At least 139 people arrested following the Sarachane protests have been indicted by the prosecutor's office.
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The Turkish Journalists Syndicate (TGS) criticised the indictment on X.
"Neither journalism nor participating in meetings and demonstrations as a constitutional right is a crime," they wrote.
Despite an official ban, demonstrations have swept Turkey since Imamoglu, a popular opposition leader and upcoming presidential candidate who could potentially challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was arrested on 19 March.
Thousands of people have been arrested in response, while the government said more than 150 police officers have been wounded.
Turkey has regularly been described as the world's worst jailer of journalists by media freedom organisations.
President Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and previous Turkish administrations have long been accused of suppressing press freedom, with crackdowns on critical journalists escalating dramatically after the 2016 coup attempt.
Erol Onderoglu, Turkey chief for Reporters Without Borders (RSF), told Middle East Eye that there was deep concern over the "impunity" the security services enjoyed when it came to targeting media workers.
"Looking at the high scale of demonstrations, we have noticed a radical and extremely concerning type of intervention on media exercise which has once again shown to us that the right to report freely is maybe the last priority of the government and law enforcement," he said.
Onderoglu, who has himself faced prison for his media work, said the arrest of Agence France-Presse journalists also proved that those working for international media outlets had no extra protection compared with local ones.
"The main goal seems to be the prevention of coverage, reports and images reflecting police brutalities," he said.
'Junta' lawsuit
Thousands more Turkish students protested in Istanbul and the capital Ankara following a lull during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Imamoglu was last month confirmed by the People's Republican Party (CHP) as their candidate for the next presidential election. The mayor's poll ratings suggest he could potentially defeat Erdogan and put an end to the AKP's more than 23 years of rule.
Erdogan has accused the CHP of seeking to overthrow his government through non-democratic means by stoking demonstrations against them.
Erdogan's lawyer Huseyin Aydin on Tuesday filed a criminal complaint against CHP leader Ozgur Ozel, after he accused the president of leading a "junta" in Turkey.
"A criminal complaint was filed to the general prosecutor's office in Ankara for insulting the president," Aydin said.
Ozel told a meeting of his party on Sunday that "Turkey is governed by a junta that is afraid of elections, afraid of its opponents and afraid of the nation."
"[Erdogan is] the president of a junta that targets those who have the support of the people and those who could become his rivals," he added.
Article 299 of the Turkish penal code makes "insulting the president" a crime and has been used thousands of times in recent decades, often targeting government critics.
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